Central system providing previews of a user&#39;s media collection to a portable media player

ABSTRACT

A system and method for providing previews of media files from a user&#39;s media collection to an associated portable media player are provided. In general, media files from the user&#39;s media collection are selected based on a play history of the user and optionally a user profile of the user. Once the media files are selected, previews of the media files are generated. The previews may then be transferred to the portable media player during a docking, or synchronization, process. Thereafter, the previews may be played by the portable media player and, if desired, selected by the user for transfer to the portable media player. The media files corresponding to the selected previews are then transferred to the portable media player during a subsequent synchronization process.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to providing previews of media files froma user's media collection to an associated portable media player.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Portable media players have become commonplace in today's society. Whena user desires to transfer new media content, such as songs or videos,to his or her portable media player, the user must manually select themedia content from his or her media collection stored on an associatedpersonal computer. The issue with this traditional method for selectingand transferring media content to a portable media player is that theuser must dedicate a significant amount of time to sitting at his or herpersonal computer. In today's busy world, this is not desirable. Thus,there is a need for a system and method for providing previews of auser's media collection to the user's portable media player. There isfurther a need for a system and method of selecting desired ones of thepreviews on the user's portable media player and transferringcorresponding media files to the user's portable media player.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system and method for providingpreviews of media files in a user's media collection to an associatedportable media player. In general, media files from the user's mediacollection are selected based on a play history of the user andoptionally a user profile. Once the media files are selected, previewsof the media files are generated. The previews may then be transferredto the portable media player during a synchronization process.Thereafter, the previews may be played by the portable media player and,if desired, selected by the user for transfer to the portable mediaplayer. The media files corresponding to the selected previews are thentransferred to the portable media player during a subsequentsynchronization process.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the presentinvention and realize additional aspects thereof after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments inassociation with the accompanying drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part ofthis specification illustrate several aspects of the invention, andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for providing previews of media files in auser's media collection to a portable media player according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of the system of FIG. 1 to identify themedia content of the media files in the user's media collectionaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates the operation of the system of FIG. 1 to providepreviews of media files in the user's media collection to the portablemedia player according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates the operation of the system of FIG. 1 to providepreviews of media files in the user's media collection to the portablemedia player according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate an exemplary graphical user interface for theportable media player according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate the exemplary graphical user interface for theportable media player according to another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a system for providing previews of media files in auser's media collection to a portable media player according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates the operation of the system of FIG. 7 to providepreviews of media files in the user's media collection to the portablemedia player according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates the operation of the system of FIG. 7 to providepreviews of media files in the user's media collection to the portablemedia player according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a system for providing previews of media files in auser's media collection to a portable media player according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates the operation of the system of FIG. 10 to providepreviews of media files in the user's media collection to the portablemedia player according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the portable media player of FIGS. 1, 7,and 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the user system of FIG. 1 according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the server of the central system of FIG. 1according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of the user system of FIG. 7 according to oneembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the server of the central system of FIG.10 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustratethe best mode of practicing the invention. Upon reading the followingdescription in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilledin the art will understand the concepts of the invention and willrecognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressedherein. It should be understood that these concepts and applicationsfall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

The present invention relates to providing previews of media files in auser's media collection to an associated portable media player. Ingeneral, media files from the user's media collection are selected basedon a play history of the user and optionally a user profile. The userprofile may include information identifying previews previously providedto the portable media player, information identifying previewspreviously selected by the user of the portable media player,demographic information, user preferences, and the like. Once the mediafiles are selected, previews of the media files are generated. Thepreviews may then be transferred to the portable media player during asynchronization process. Thereafter, the previews may be played by theportable media player and, if desired, selected by the user for transferto the portable media player. The media files corresponding to theselected previews are then transferred to the portable media playerduring a subsequent synchronization process.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 for providing previews to a portablemedia player 12 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Ingeneral, the system 10 includes the portable media player 12, a usersystem 14, and a central system 16. The user system 14 and the centralsystem 16 are communicatively coupled by a network 18, which ispreferably a distributed, public access network, such as the Internet.The portable media player 12 may be a device similar to an Apple iPodand may be enabled to play audio content such as songs, video contentsuch as movies or television programs, or both audio and video content.The portable media player 12 generally includes a control system 20 anda number of databases 22-28. While the databases 22-28 are illustratedseparately or clarity, it is to be understood that they may beimplemented in one or more storage units such as, but not limited to, ahard-disc drive, Random-Access Memory (RAM), or the like.

The databases 22-28 include a media database 22, a play history database24, a previews database 26, and a media selections database 28. Themedia database 22 operates to store a number of media files, such assong files and video files, which may be selected and played by theportable media player 12. Generally, the media files include mediacontent encoded with an encoding algorithm such as, but not limited to,a Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) Layer 3 (MP3) encoding algorithm,an Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) algorithm, an MPEG audio/video encodingalgorithm, an Audio Video Interleave (AVI) audio/video encodingalgorithm, or the like. The media content may be a song, movie,television program, or the like.

The play history database 24 operates to store a play history of theportable media player 12. For each media file played by the portablemedia player 12, the play history includes an identifier and a timestamp identifying a time and date at which the media file was played. Inone embodiment, the identifier is a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID)identifying the media content of the media file. For example, the GUIDof a song file identifies the song. Note that if a media file is playedmultiple times, the play history may include a separate entry for eachplaying of the media file or multiple time stamps stored in associationwith the identifier of the media file.

The previews database 26 operates to store a number of previews of mediacontent, such as previews of songs or videos. A preview is preferably amedia file corresponding to a segment of media content, such as a thirtysecond segment of a song or a five minute segment of a movie ortelevision program. As discussed below, the previews are previews of themedia content of media files from the user's media collection, which isstored by the user system 14. In this embodiment, the media files fromthe user's media collection from which the previews are generated areselected by the central system 16 based on either a current or previousplay history of the portable media player 12, a current or previous playhistory of the user system 14, a user profile of the user, or anycombination thereof. The previews are provided to the portable mediaplayer 12 during a docking, or synchronization, process, wherein theportable media player 12 is communicatively coupled, or docked, to theuser system 14 via a local wireless interface such as a Bluetooth orZigbee interface or a wired interface such as a Universal Serial Bus(USB) or Firewire interface. The synchronization process may beperformed when desired by the user to, for example, transfer media filesto the portable media player 12 or charge a battery of the portablemedia player 12.

The previews stored in the previews database 26 may be played by theportable media player 12 and, if desired, selected by the user such thatthe corresponding media files from the user's media collection aretransferred to the portable media player 12 during a subsequentsynchronization process. Identifiers of the previews selected by theuser are stored in the media selections database 28. The identifiers ofthe previews may be the GUIDs of the media content of the correspondingmedia files or any other identifiers of the corresponding media files.

The user system 14 may be a personal computer or the like associatedwith the portable media player 12. In general, the user system 14includes a control system 30, a media collection database 32, a userprofile database 34, a play history database 36, and a previews database38. While the databases 32-38 are illustrated separately for clarity,they may be implemented in one or more storage units such as, but notlimited to, one or more hard-disc drives.

The media collection database 32 operates to store a number of mediafiles, such as song files and video files, corresponding to a mediacollection of the user associated with the user system 14 and theportable media player 12. The user profile database 34 operates to storethe user profile of the user associated with the user system 14 and theportable media player 12. The user profile may include informationidentifying the user, information identifying previews previouslyprovided to the portable media player 12, information identifyingpreviews previously selected by the user of the portable media player12, demographic information, user preferences, and the like. Theinformation identifying the user may include, but is not limited to,name, address, email address, telephone number, and the like. Thedemographic information may include, but is not limited to, gender, age,marital status, and the like. The user preferences may include, but arenot limited to, one or more favorite music or video genres, one or morefavorite music artists, one or more favorite movies, one or morefavorite television programs, and the like.

The play history database 36 operates to store a play history includingan identifier, such as a GUID, and a time stamp for each media fileplayed at the user system 14. In addition, the play history database 36operates to store the play history from the portable media player 12,which may be provided to the user system 14 during a synchronizationprocess.

The previews database 38 operates to store previews generated by theuser system 14. As discussed below, the media files from which thepreviews are generated may be selected by the central system 16 based onthe play history of the portable media player 12, the play history ofthe user system 14, the user profile of the user, or any combinationthereof. Once generated, the previews may be stored in the previewsdatabase 38 and provided to the portable media player 12 during asynchronization process.

The control system 30 may be implemented in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. In this embodiment, the controlsystem 30 includes a media player 40, a synchronization engine 42, and apreview generator 44. The media player 40 may be implemented inhardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software andoperates to play media files having media content such as, but notlimited to, songs, movies, television programs, or the like.

The synchronization engine 42 may be implemented in hardware, software,or a combination of hardware and software and operates to effect asynchronization process between the user system 14 and the portablemedia player 12. More specifically, the synchronization process occurswhen the portable media player 12 is communicatively coupled to the usersystem 14 via either a wired or wireless interface such as a wirelesscommunication interface operating according to the Bluetooth standard,the Zigbee standard, one of the IEEE 802.11 standards, or the like, or awired interface such as a USB or Firewire interface. During thesynchronization process, data is exchanged between the user system 14and the portable media player 12. More specifically, during thesynchronization process, the play history of the portable media player12 may be transferred from the portable media player 12 to the usersystem 14, preview selections may be transferred from the portable mediaplayer 12 to the user system 14, and media files and/or previews ofmedia files may be transferred from the user system 14 to the portablemedia player 12. In addition, the user system 14 may, for example,instruct the portable media player 12 to delete previews or media filesas desired by the user.

The preview generator 44 may be implemented in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software and operates to generate previewsof select media files from the user's media collection. As discussedbelow, in this embodiment, the central system 16 operates to selectmedia files from the user's media collection for which previews are tobe generated. Identifiers of the select media files are provided to theuser system 14. In response, the preview generator 44 operates togenerate previews of the select media files. The previews are mediafiles having media content corresponding to segments of the mediacontent of the corresponding media files. For example, a preview of asong file may be a 30 second segment of the song. The segment may be anysegment of the song such as, for example, the first 30 seconds of thesong, the last 30 seconds of the song, or the 30 seconds of the song ata mid-point of the song. Likewise, a preview of a television program maybe a segment corresponding to, for example, the first 5 minutes of thetelevision program. The previews may be generated such that the previewsare in the same format as the corresponding media file from the user'smedia collection, a default format, or a select format desired by theuser. For example, if a song file is an MP3 file, the preview generator44 may generate the preview of the song file in the MP3 format or in adefault or user defined format such as the AAC format.

The central system 16 generally operates to select media files from theuser's media collection, which is stored at the user system 14, forwhich previews are to be generated and provided to the portable mediaplayer 12. The central system 16 includes a server 46 and databases 48,50. The server 46 is preferably implemented as a combination of hardwareand software and includes a media identification application 52 and aprediction engine 54. Note that while a single server 46 is illustrated,the server 46 may be implemented as a number of distributed servers.

The media identification application 52 may be implemented software or acombination of hardware and software. The media identificationapplication 52 operates to identify the media content of the media filesin the media collection stored at the user system 14 and assigncorresponding identifiers, or GUIDs, to the media files. Morespecifically, the user system 14 provides identification parameters suchas, but not limited to, metadata, such as ID3 tags, describing the mediacontent of the media files; fingerprints of the media content of themedia files; samples of the media content of the media files; filenames; directory names; or the like or any combination thereof. Inresponse, the media identification application 52 attempts to identifythe media content of the media files based on the identificationparameters.

For media files having media content identified by the mediaidentification application 46, corresponding GUIDs identifying the mediacontent are provided to the user system 14 and stored in associationwith the media files. For example, the GUIDs may be stored in theheaders of the media files. Thereafter, the media files may beidentified using the GUIDs. In addition, the GUIDs for the media filesin the user's media collection may be stored at the central system 16 asinformation identifying the media files in the user's media collection.In one embodiment, the GUIDs identifying the media content of the mediafiles in the user's media collection are stored as part of the userprofile of the user associated with the portable media player 12 and theuser system 14. It should be noted that while the GUIDs are thepreferred method of identifying the media files in the user's mediacollection, the present invention is not limited thereto. Any type ofidentifier may be used.

The prediction engine 54 may be implemented in software, hardware, or acombination of hardware and software. In general, the prediction engine54 operates to select one or more media files for which previews are tobe generated and provided to the portable media player 12 based on theplay history of the portable media player 12, the play history of theuser system 14, the user profile of the user associated with theportable media player 12 and the user system 14, or any combinationthereof. Note that if the portable media player 12 and the user system14 do not yet have play histories, the prediction engine 54 may selectthe media files from the user's media collection either randomly orbased on the user profile of the user.

The databases 48 and 50 include a user profiles database 48 and a playhistory database 50. The user profiles database 48 may include a userprofile for each user registered with the central system 16, such as theuser profile of the user associated with the portable media player 12and the user system 14. The user profile of the user associated with theportable media player 12 and the user system 14 corresponds to the userprofile stored in the user profile database 34 at the user system 14.Thus, in this embodiment, the user profile database 34 at the usersystem 14 is optional, but may be desired in some implementations.

The play history database 50 includes the play history of the portablemedia player 12 and, optionally, the play history of the user system 14,which are provided by the user system 14. The play histories of theportable media player 12 and the user system 14 stored in the playhistory database 50 correspond to the play histories stored in the playhistory database 36 at the user system 14. Thus, in this embodiment, theplay history database 36 at the user system 14 is optional, but may bedesired in some implementations.

As stated above, the network 18 is preferably a distributed, publicaccess network, such as the Internet, wherein the user system 14 and thecentral system 16 are capable of interacting with and through thenetwork 18 using various protocols such as Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Hypertext Transport Protocol(HTTP), and File Transfer Protocol (FTP). However, those of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that the network 18 is not limited tothereto. More specifically, the network 18 may be any type of networksuitable to allow interaction between the user system 14 and the centralsystem 16. For example, the network 18 may be a wired network, awireless network, or a combination thereof. Further, the network 18 mayinclude a distributed computing network, an intranet, a local-areanetwork (LAN) and/or a wide-area network (WAN), or any combinationthereof.

FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of the system 10 of FIG. 1 to identifythe media content of the media files in the user's media collectionaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. In general, theprocess begins when the user system 14 registers with the central system16 (step 100). During the registration process, the user associated withthe user system 14 may be requested to enter information such asidentification information, demographic information, and userpreferences. Based on this information, the server 46 generates the userprofile of the user.

Next, the user system 14 provides identification parameters for each ofthe media files in the user's media collection to the central system 16(step 102). As discussed above, the identification parameters mayinclude, but are not limited to, metadata, such as ID3 tags, describingthe media content of the media files; fingerprints of the media contentof the media files; samples of the media content of the media files;file names; directory names; or the like or any combination thereof.

In response, the server 46, and more specifically the mediaidentification application 52, attempts to identify the media content ofthe media files based on the identification parameters (step 104). Thedetails of the operation of the media identification application 52 arenot central to the present invention. However, in general,identification may be performed by comparing the identificationparameters of the media files to like identification parameters ofreference media files, wherein the reference media files or theidentification parameters for the reference media files may be stored inassociation with the server 46. For example, the media identificationapplication 52 may compare the fingerprints of the media files from theuser's media collection to fingerprints of the reference media files. Asa result, if the media content of the media file corresponds to themedia content of one of the reference media files, the fingerprints willsubstantially match such that the media content of the media file isidentified as the media content of the one of the reference media files.Likewise, samples of the media files may be used to generatefingerprints for the media files and used to identify the media contentof the media files. In addition or alternatively, metadata, such as ID3tags, may be used to identify the media files as ones of the referencemedia files.

For a more detailed discussion of generating fingerprints for a song andidentifying the song based on the fingerprints, see U.S. Pat. No.6,990,453, entitled SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR RECOGNIZING SOUND AND MUSICSIGNALS IN HIGH NOISE AND DISTORTION, issued Jan. 24, 2006, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Once the media content of each of the media files in the user's mediacollection is identified, the server 46 operates to update the userprofile of the user to include information identifying the media filesin the user's media collection (step 106). Preferably, the informationidentifying the media files includes the GUIDs identifying the mediacontent of the media files. However, the present invention is notlimited thereto. Other identifiers for the media files may be used toidentify the media files in the user's media collection. It should benoted that the media identification application 52 may be unable toidentify the media content of some of the media files in the user'smedia collection, as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in theart. The unidentified media files may optionally be ignored by thesystem 10 such that previews of the unidentified media files are notautomatically provided to the portable media player 12 as disclosedherein.

The GUIDs for the media files and, optionally, metadata for the mediafiles may then be provided to the user system 14 (step 108). Themetadata may include information, such as ID3 tags, describing the mediacontent of the media files. As an example, for a song, the metadata mayinclude information such as, but not limited to, artist, album, title,genre, year released, lyrics, image of the album cover, and the like.Once the metadata is received by the user system 14, the metadata may bestored, for example, in the headers of the associated media files orused to correct the metadata already stored for the associated mediafiles. For example, if a song is an MP3 file, the metadata may be usedto create or correct the ID3 tags stored in the MP3 file. In addition,the metadata may be used to generate new file names for the media filesor the like as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art uponreading this disclosure.

At this point, steps 102-108 may be repeated when new media files areadded to the user's media collection or when desired by the user (step110).

FIG. 3 illustrates the operation of the system 10 of FIG. 1 to providepreviews of media files in the user's media collection to the portablemedia player 12 according to one embodiment of the present invention.First, during a first synchronization process, the play history of theportable media player 12 is provided to the user system 14 (step 200).Note that if, for example, the portable media player 12 is new, the playhistory of the portable media player 12 may be null or empty. It shouldalso be noted that the play history may be the complete play history ofthe portable media player 12 or an update for the play history includinga portion of the play history generated since the last transfer of theplay history. As such, as used herein, “play history” is the entire playhistory or an update to the play history.

Upon receiving the play history, the user system 14 provides the playhistory of the portable media player 12 and, optionally, the playhistory of the user system 14 to the central system 16 in order toupdate the user profile of the user (step 202). The user system 14 maythen send a request to the central system 16 to initiate the predictionengine 54 (step 204). Note that while steps 202 and 204 are illustratedas separate steps, they may be implemented in a single step wherein theplay history of the portable media player 12 and, optionally, the playhistory of the user system 14 are provided in the request.

In response, the central system 16, and more specifically the predictionengine 54, selects a number of media files from the user's mediacollection to be previewed based on the play history of the portablemedia player 12, the play history of the user system 14, the userprofile of the user, or any combination thereof (step 206). For example,if the play history of the portable media player 12 indicates that theuser has recently listened to numerous songs from the 80s music genre,the central system 16 may select media files from the user's mediacollection from the 80s music genre. If the play history of the portablemedia player 12 and the play history of the user system 14 indicate thatthe user has recently viewed episodes of a particular televisionprogram, the central system 16 may select media files from the user'smedia collection corresponding to episodes of the television program orepisodes of similar television programs. In addition, if the informationidentifying the media files in the media collection indicates that theuser's media collection includes numerous songs from the Classic Rockmusic genre, the central system 16 may additionally select songs fromthe user's media collection from the Classic Rock music genre.

Still further, the prediction engine 54 may determine that the user hasrecently selected previews of songs by a particular artist at theportable media player 12 such that corresponding media files from theuser's media collection have been transferred to the portable mediaplayer 12. As such, the prediction engine 54 may select other mediafiles from the user's media collection by the same artist or by asimilar artist. In a similar fashion, the prediction engine 54 maydetermine that the user has not selected previews of songs from aparticular genre. As such, the prediction engine 54 may not select mediafiles, or may reduce the number of media files selected, from thatparticular genre. These examples are not intended to limit the scope ofthe present invention. Numerous variations in how the play history ofthe portable media player 12, the play history of the user system 14,and the user profile of the user associated with the portable mediaplayer 12 and the user system 14 may be used to select media files fromthe user's media collection to preview will be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure.

The number of media files selected by the prediction engine 54 may be adefault number such as ten, fifty, or a hundred. Alternatively, thenumber of media files selected by the prediction engine 54 may bedefined by the user and stored, for example, in the user profile of theuser. As another alternative, the number of media files to be selectedby the prediction engine 54 may be provided to the central system 16along with the play history, wherein the number is determined by theportable media player 12 or the user system 14 based on an amount offree storage space on the portable media player 12. This may beparticularly beneficial where the media database 22 of the portablemedia player 12 is empty or nearly empty, such as when the portablemedia player 12 is first purchased. In this situation, previews of allor a substantial number of the media files in the user's mediacollection may be desirable. By having the previews stored on theportable media player 12, the user may select which media files from hisor her media collection are to be transferred to the portable mediaplayer 12 by interacting with the portable media player 12 rather thanthe user system 14.

After selecting the media files to preview, the server 46 then providesidentifiers of the selected media files, such as the GUIDs identifyingthe media content of the selected media files, to the user system 14(step 208). The user system 14 then generates previews of the selectedmedia files, as described above (step 210). Once generated, the previewsare provided to the portable media player 12 (step 212). Note that inthis embodiment, steps 200-212 are performed during a singlesynchronization process.

At this point, the synchronization process ends, and the portable mediaplayer 12 is undocked from the user system 14. While the portable mediaplayer 12 undocked, the previews may be played and processed on theportable media player 12 (step 214). More specifically, the previews maybe played by the portable media player 12. Upon viewing or listening toeach of the previews, the user may select the preview such that thepreview is added to a list of media selections stored in the mediaselections database 28. By selecting the preview, the user indicatesthat the corresponding media file from the user's media collection is tobe transferred to the portable media player 12 during the nextsynchronization process. The media selections stored in the mediaselections database 28 may be the identifiers, such as the GUIDs, of theselected previews, which may also be the identifiers, or GUIDs, for thecorresponding media files in the user's media collection.

In addition to playing and processing the previews, the user may playdesired ones of the media files stored in the media database 22. Inresponse, a play history is generated (step 216). For each media fileplayed, the play history preferably includes the GUID identifying themedia content of the media file and a time stamp identifying a time anddate at which the media file was played.

When the portable media player 12 is again docked to the user system 14,the play history and media selections are provided to the user system 14(step 218). In addition, the media selections may include informationdefining a desired format such as, for example, MP3 or AAC for songs orMPEG or AVI for videos. The desired format may alternatively be storedin the user profile of the user associated with the portable mediaplayer 12 and the user system 14.

The user system 14 then provides the selected media files, which are themedia files identified by the media selections, to the portable mediaplayer 12 (step 220). Optionally, if a particular format is desired, theuser system 14 may generate copies of the selected media file in thedesired format and provide the copies of the selected media files to theportable media player 12. In addition, while portable media player 12 isdocked, the user system 14 provides the play history and the mediaselections to the central system 16, where the play history andidentifiers are used to update the user profile of the user (step 222).The user system 14 then sends a request to the central system 16 formedia files to preview (step 224). As stated above, steps 222 and 224may be implemented as a single request.

In response to the request, the central system 16, and more specificallythe prediction engine 54, selects a number of media files from theuser's media collection to be previewed based on the play history of theportable media player 12, the play history of the user system 14, theuser profile of the user, or any combination thereof (step 226). Notethat by providing the media selections to the central system 16 andstoring the identifiers of media files previously previewed, theprediction engine 54 may ensure that media files already previewedand/or selected are not repeatedly selected for preview. In addition,the media selections may be given greater weight than non-selectedpreviews when selecting media files to preview. The server 46 thenprovides identifiers of the media files selected for preview, such asthe GUIDs identifying the media content of the media files, to the usersystem 14 (step 228). The user system 14 then generates previews of themedia files selected for preview as described above (step 230). Oncegenerated, the previews are provided to the portable media player 12(step 232). Note again that in this embodiment, steps 218-232 areperformed during a single synchronization process. From this point,steps 214-232 may be repeated as desired.

FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3 and illustrates the operation of the system10 of FIG. 1 to provide previews of media files in the user's mediacollection to the portable media player 12 according to anotherembodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the previewsprovided to the portable media player 12 are generated based on aprevious play history of the portable media player 12 in order to reducethe amount of time that the portable media player 12 is docked to theuser system 14.

First, during a first synchronization process, the play history of theportable media player 12 is provided to the user system 14 (step 300).Note that if, for example, the portable media player 12 is new, the playhistory may be null or empty. As illustrated, at this point,synchronization ends, and the portable media player 12 is undocked fromthe user system 14. However, note that the present invention is notlimited thereto. The following steps may begin before the portable mediaplayer 12 is undocked.

Upon receiving the play history, the user system 14 provides the playhistory of the portable media player 12 and, optionally, the playhistory of the user system 14 to the central system 16 in order toupdate the user profile of the user (step 302). The user system 14 maythen send a request to the central system 16 to initiate the predictionengine 54 (step 304). Note that while steps 302 and 304 are illustratedas separate steps, they may implemented in a single step wherein theplay history of the portable media player 12 and, optionally, the playhistory of the user system 14 are provided in the request.

In response, the central system 16, and more specifically the predictionengine 54, selects a number of media files from the user's mediacollection to be previewed based on the play history of the portablemedia player 12, the play history of the user system 14, the userprofile of the user, or any combination thereof (step 306). Afterselecting the media files to preview, the server 46 then providesidentifiers of the selected media files, such as the GUIDs identifyingthe media content of the selected media files, to the user system 14(step 308). The user system 14 then generates previews of the selectedmedia files as described above (step 310).

While steps 302-308 are being performed, the portable media player 12 isundocked. If media files have previously been transferred to theportable media player 22, the user may select and play media files. Inresponse, the play history for the portable media player 12 isgenerated, or updated, to include the identifiers of the played mediafiles and time stamps (step 312).

When the portable media player 12 is again docked to the user system 14for a second synchronization process, the previews generated by the usersystem 14 are transferred to the portable media player 12 (step 314),and the play history of the portable media player 12 is provided to theuser system 14 (step 316). Note that in this embodiment, the previewsprovided to the portable media player 12 are selected based on the playhistory of the portable media player provided to the user system 14during a previous synchronization process. As a result, the portablemedia player 12 need not be docked for the entire process of selectingand generating the previews, and the amount of time that the portablemedia player 12 is docked to the user system 14 is substantiallyreduced. This may be desirable in some implementations. In others,selecting the previews based on the current play history of the portablemedia player 12, as is the case in FIG. 3, may be desirable.

At this point, the synchronization process ends, and the portable mediaplayer 12 is undocked from the user system 14. While the portable mediaplayer 12 is undocked, the user system 14 provides the play history ofthe portable media player 12 and, optionally, the play history of theuser system 14 to the central system 16 in order to update the userprofile of the user (step 318). The user system 14 may then send arequest to the central system 16 to initiate the prediction engine 54(step 320). Note that while steps 318 and 320 are illustrated asseparate steps, they may be implemented in a single step wherein theplay history of the portable media player 12 and, optionally, the playhistory of the user system 14 are provided in the request.

In response, the central system 16, and more specifically the predictionengine 54, selects a number of media files from the user's mediacollection to be previewed based on the play history of the portablemedia player 12, the play history of the user system 14, the userprofile of the user, or any combination thereof (step 322). Afterselecting the media files to preview, the server 46 then providesidentifiers of the selected media files, such as the GUIDs identifyingthe media content of the selected media files, to the user system 14(step 324). The user system 14 then generates previews of the selectedmedia files as described above (step 326).

While the portable media player 12 is undocked, the previews previouslytransferred to the portable media player in step 314, or any otherpreviews previously transferred to the portable media player 12 and notyet removed, may be played and processed on the portable media player 12(step 328). More specifically, the previews may be played by theportable media player 12. Upon viewing or listening to each of thepreviews, the user may select the preview such that the preview is addedto a list of media selections stored in the media selections database28. By selecting the preview, the user indicates that the correspondingmedia file from the user's media collection is to be transferred to theportable media player 12 during the next synchronization process. Themedia selections stored in the media selections database 28 may be theidentifiers, such as the GUIDs, of the selected previews, which may bethe identifiers, such as the GUIDs, for the corresponding media files inthe user's media collection.

In addition to playing and processing the previews, the user may selectand play media files stored in the media database 22, and, in response,a play history is generated (step 330). For each media file played, theplay history preferably includes the GUID identifying the media contentof the media file and a time stamp identifying a time and date at whichthe media file was played.

When the portable media player 12 is again docked to the user system 14,the play history and media selections are provided to the user system 14(step 332). In addition, the media selections may include informationdefining a desired format such as, for example, MP3 or AAC for songs orMPEG or AVI for videos. The desired format may alternatively be storedin the user profile of the user associated with the portable mediaplayer 12 and the user system 14. While not illustrated for clarity, theplay history and media selections may be provided to the central system16 to update the user profile of the user associated with the portablemedia player 12 and the user system 14, wherein the updated user profilemay be used by the prediction engine 54 to select media files for futurepreviews.

The user system 14 then provides the selected media files, which are themedia files identified by the media selections, to the portable mediaplayer 12 (step 334). Optionally, if a particular format is desired, theuser system 14 may generate copies of the selected media file in thedesired format and provide the copies of the selected media files to theportable media player 12. In addition, while the portable media player12 is docked, the previews previously generated in step 326 are providedto the portable media player 12 (step 336). Note again that in thisembodiment, the previews provided to the portable media player 12 areselected based on the play history of the portable media player 12provided to the user system 14 during previous synchronizationprocesses. From this point, the steps 318-336 may be repeated asdesired.

FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate an exemplary graphical user interface for theportable media player 12 enabling the user to play previews provided tothe portable media player 12 according to the present invention. Asillustrated in FIG. 5A, the user may first select whether he or shedesires to play music, play videos, or adjust the settings of theportable media player 12. In this example, the user has selected MUSIC.Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the user may then select whether he orshe desires to view a list of play lists, artists, albums, songs,genres, or previews. If the user selects play lists, a number of playlists generated by the user may then be presented to the user. Previewsmay be randomly, periodically, or otherwise inserted into the playlists. If the user selects artists, a list of artists for which songs orpreviews are stored on the portable media player 12 may then bepresented to the user. In a similar fashion, lists of albums, songs,genres, and previews may be presented to the user if selected.

In this example, the user selects ARTISTS. As a result, a list ofartists is presented to the user, as illustrated in FIG. 5C. The list ofartists includes artists for which songs or previews are stored on theportable media player 12. The user may then select an artist to view alist of songs and previews stored on the portable media player 12 forthe selected artist. In this example, the user has selected ARTIST 1. Asa result, a list of songs and previews for the selected artist ispresented to the user, as illustrated in FIG. 5D. In this example, thereare three previews for the selected artist, where the previews areidentified by being displayed in italics. The previews may alternativelybe identified using a different font, different color, some otherindicator, or any combination thereof. In addition, the previews may beidentified by placing “preview” beside the song title. Previews selectedby the user for transfer to the portable media player 12 may beidentified by placing “selected” beside the song title.

FIGS. 6A-6D are similar to FIGS. 5A-5D. However, FIGS. 6A-6D illustratethe situation where a user desires to play videos rather than music. Asillustrated, the user may navigate through the graphical user interfaceuntil a list of videos is presented. As illustrated in FIG. 6D, the listof videos includes both videos and previews of videos. The previews maybe may be identified using a different font, different color, some otherindicator, or any combination thereof. In this example, the previews areidentified by being displayed in italics. In addition, previews may beidentified by placing “preview” beside the video title. Previewsselected by the user for transfer to the portable media player 12 may beidentified by placing “selected” beside the video title.

In addition to the visual indicators used in the exemplary graphicaluser interface of FIGS. 5A-5D and 6A-6D, previews and the status of thepreviews may be additionally or alternatively indicated using audibletones or messages. For example, a single audible tone may be playedbefore a preview begins playback for the first time, two audible tonesmay be played before a preview that has been previously played but notselected for transfer to the portable media player 12 begins playback,and three audible tones may be played before a preview that has beenselected for transfer to the portable media player 12 begins playback.In a similar fashion, prerecorded audio messages, such as “new,”“selected,” or the like may be played before playback of a preview toprovide the status of the preview.

Further, a preview may be selected in a number of manners. In oneembodiment, while the preview is being played, the user may be presentedwith a graphical user interface including a “select” button, wherein theuser may activate the “select” button using a physical user interface ofthe portable media player 12. In addition or as an alternative, the usermay select previews for purchase via the user interface of the portablemedia player 12 while the previews are not playing.

FIG. 7 illustrates a system 10′ operating to provide previews to aportable media player 12 according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention. This embodiment is substantially the same as that discussedabove. However, the prediction engine 54′ is hosted by the user system14′ rather than the central system 16 (FIG. 1). Note that the centralsystem 16 may still be beneficial for identifying the media content ofthe media files in the user's media collection. However, in thisembodiment, the media files selected for preview are selected by theuser system 14′ rather than the central system 16.

FIG. 8 illustrates the operation of the system 10′ of FIG. 7 accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. First, the portable mediaplayer 12 is docked to the user system 14′ for a first synchronizationprocess in which the play history of the portable media player 12, ifany, is provided to the user system 14′ (step 400). The play history isused to update the user profile of the user stored in the user profiledatabase 34. Next, the user system 14′, and more specifically theprediction engine 54′, selects a number of media files from the user'smedia collection to be previewed based on the play history of theportable media player 12, the play history of the user system 14′, theuser profile of the user, or any combination thereof, as described above(step 402). Identifiers of the selected media files are provided to thepreview generator 44, which generates previews of the selected mediafiles (404). Once generated, the previews are provided to the portablemedia player 12 (step 406). Note that in this embodiment, steps 400-406are performed during a single synchronization process.

At this point, the synchronization process ends, and the portable mediaplayer 12 is undocked from the user system 14′. While the portable mediaplayer 12 undocked, the previews may be played and processed on theportable media player 12 (step 408). More specifically, the previews maybe played by the portable media player 12. Upon viewing or listening toeach of the previews, the user may select the preview such that thepreview is added to the list of media selections stored in the mediaselections database 28. By selecting the preview, the user indicatesthat the corresponding media file from the user's media collection is tobe transferred to the portable media player 12 during the nextsynchronization process. The media selections stored in the mediaselections database 28 may be the identifiers, such as the GUIDs, of theselected previews, which may also be the identifiers, such as the GUIDs,for the corresponding media files from the user's media collection.

In addition to playing and processing the previews, the user may playdesired ones of the media files stored in the media database 22, and, inresponse, a play history is generated (step 410). For each media fileplayed, the play history preferably includes the GUID identifying themedia content of the media file and a time stamp identifying a time anddate at which the media file was played.

When the portable media player 12 is again docked to the user system14′, the play history and the media selections are provided to the usersystem 14′ (step 412). In addition, the media selections may includeinformation defining a desired format such as, for example, MP3 or AACfor songs or MPEG or AVI for videos. The desired format mayalternatively be stored in the user profile of the user associated withthe portable media player 12 and the user system 14′.

The user system 14′ then provides the selected media files, which arethe media files identified by the media selections, to the portablemedia player 12 (step 414). Optionally, if a particular format isdesired, the user system 14′ may generate copies of the selected mediafiles in the desired format and provide the copies of the selected mediafiles to the portable media player 12. In addition, while portable mediaplayer 12 is docked, the user system 14′ updates the user profile storedin the user profile database 34 using the play history and the mediaselections provided by the portable media player 12 in step 412. Theuser system 14′ initiates the prediction engine 54′, which operates toselect media files for which previews are to be provided to the portablemedia player 12 based on the play history of the portable media player12, the play history of the user system 14, the user profile of theuser, or any combination thereof (step 416). Note that by storing themedia selections and the identifiers of media files previously previewedin the user profile, the prediction engine 54′ may ensure that mediafiles already previewed and/or selected for transfer to the portablemedia player 12 are not repeatedly selected. In addition, the selectedpreviews may be given greater weight than non-selected previews whenselecting media files to preview.

The identifiers of the media files selected for preview, such as theGUIDs identifying the media content of the media files selected forpreview, are then provided to the preview generator 44, which operatesto generate previews of the media files selected for preview (step 418).Once generated, the previews are provided to the portable media player12 (step 420). Note again that in this embodiment, steps 412-420 areperformed during a single synchronization process. From this point, thesteps 408-420 may be repeated as desired.

FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 8 and illustrates the operation of the system10′ of FIG. 7 according to another embodiment of the present invention.In this embodiment, the previews provided to the portable media player12 are generated based on a previous play history of the portable mediaplayer 12 in order to reduce the amount of time that the portable mediaplayer 12 is docked to the user system 14′.

First, the portable media player 12 is docked to the user system 14′ fora first synchronization process during which the play history of theportable media player 12, if any, is provided to the user system 14′(step 500). The play history is used to update the user profile of theuser stored in the user profile database 34. At this point, the portablemedia player 12 may be undocked.

The user system 14′, and more specifically the prediction engine 54′,selects a number of media files from the user's media collection to bepreviewed based on the play history of the portable media player 12, theplay history of the user system 14′, the user profile of the user, orany combination thereof, as described above (step 502). Identifiers ofthe media files selected for preview are provided to the previewgenerator 44, which generates previews of the media files (step 504).Once generated, the previews are stored in the previews database 38until the portable media player 12 is again docked to the user system14′ for a subsequent synchronization process.

While the portable media player 12 is undocked, the user may select andplay media files previously transferred to the portable media player 22.In response, the portable media player 12 generates, or updates, theplay history of the portable media player 12 to include the identifiersof the played media files and time stamps (step 506).

When the portable media player 12 is again docked to the user system 14′for a second synchronization process, the previews generated by the usersystem 14′ in step 504 are transferred to the portable media player 12(step 508), and the play history of the portable media player 12 isprovided to the user system 14′ (step 510). Note that in thisembodiment, the previews provided to the portable media player 12 areselected based on the play history of the portable media player 12provided to the user system 14′ during a previous synchronizationprocess. As a result, the portable media player 12 is not docked for theentire process of selecting and generating the previews, and the amountof time that the portable media player 12 is docked to the user system14′ is substantially reduced. This may be desirable in someimplementations. In others, selecting the previews based on the currentplay history of the portable media player, as is the case in FIG. 8, maybe desirable.

At this point, the synchronization process ends, and the portable mediaplayer 12 is undocked from the user system 14′. While the portable mediaplayer 12 is undocked, the user system 14′ updates the user profile ofthe user based on the play history provided to the user system 14′during step 510. The prediction engine 54′ is then initiated to select anumber of media files from the user's media collection to be previewedbased on the play history of the portable media player 12, the playhistory of the user system 14′, the user profile of the user, or anycombination thereof (step 512). After selecting the media files topreview, the identifiers of the selected media files, such as the GUIDsidentifying the media content of the selected media files, are providedto the preview generator 44, which operates to generate previews of theselected media files (step 514).

While the portable media player 12 is undocked, the previews previouslytransferred to the portable media player 12 in step 508, or any otherpreviews previously transferred to the portable media player 12 and notyet removed, may be played and processed on the portable media player 12(step 516). More specifically, the previews may be played by theportable media player 12. Upon viewing or listening to each of thepreviews, the user may select the preview such that the preview is addedto the list of media selections stored in the media selections database28. By selecting the preview, the user indicates that the correspondingmedia file from the user's media collection is to be transferred to theportable media player 12 during the next synchronization process. Themedia selections stored in the media selections database 28 may be theidentifiers, such as the GUIDs, of the selected previews, which may bethe identifiers, such as the GUIDs, for the corresponding media files inthe user's media collection.

In addition to playing and processing the previews, the user may selectand play media files stored in the media database 22, and, in response,a play history is generated (step 518). For each media file played, theplay history preferably includes the GUID identifying the media contentof the media file and a time stamp identifying a time and date at whichthe media file was played.

When the portable media player 12 is again docked to the user system14′, the play history and media selections are provided to the usersystem 14′ (step 520). In addition, the media selections may includeinformation defining a desired format such as, for example, MP3 or AACfor songs or MPEG or AVI for videos. The desired format mayalternatively be stored in the user profile of the user associated withthe portable media player 12 and the user system 14′. The user system14′ then provides the selected media files, which are the media filesidentified by the media selections, to the portable media player 12(step 522). Optionally, if a particular format is desired, the usersystem 14′ may generate copies of the selected media files in thedesired format and provide the copies of the selected media files to theportable media player 12. In addition, while the portable media player12 is docked, the previews previously generated in step 514 are providedto the portable media player 12 (step 524). Note again that in thisembodiment, the previews provided to the portable media player 12 areselected based on the play history of the portable media player 12provided to the user system 14′ during previous synchronizationprocesses. From this point, the steps 512-524 may be repeated asdesired.

FIG. 10 illustrates a system 10″ operating to provide previews to aportable media player 12 according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention. This embodiment is similar to that in FIG. 1. However, inthis embodiment, the portable media player 12 is equipped with awireless communication interface communicatively coupling the portablemedia player 12 to the network 18. The wireless communication interfacemay be a cellular interface coupling the portable media player 12 to acellular network, a local wireless interface such as an IEEE 802.11wireless interface coupling the portable media player 12 to an accesspoint associated with the network 18, or the like. In addition, theuser's media collection, and optionally the previews of the user's mediacollection, is hosted by the central system 16′ rather than the usersystem 14 (FIG. 1).

FIG. 11 illustrates the operation of the system 10″ of FIG. 10 accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. First, the portable mediaplayer 12 communicates the play history of the portable media player 12,if any, to the central system 16′ (step 600). The play history is usedto update the user profile of the user stored in the user profilesdatabase 48. Note that the play history may be provided to the centralsystem 16′ periodically or as part of a request for previews. Next, thecentral system 16′, and more specifically the prediction engine 54,selects a number of media files from the user's media collection to bepreviewed based on the play history of the portable media player 12,optionally the play history of the user system 14, the user profile ofthe user, or any combination thereof, as described above (step 602).Identifiers of the selected media files are provided to the previewgenerator 44′, which generates previews of the selected media files(604). The previews are then provided to the portable media player 12(step 606) via the network 18. Note that steps 602-606 may be performedautomatically in response to receiving the play history from theportable media player 12. Alternatively steps 602 and 604 may beperformed periodically in response to receiving periodic updates fromthe portable media player 12 such that the previews are pre-generated.Thereafter, the previews may be provided to the portable media player 12in step 606 in response to a request. By pre-generating the previews,the time required to provide the previews to the portable media player12 in response to a request is substantially reduced.

At this point, the previews may be played and processed on the portablemedia player 12 (step 608). More specifically, upon viewing or listeningto each of the previews, the user may select the preview such that thepreview is added to the list of media selections stored in the mediaselections database 28. By selecting the preview, the user indicatesthat the corresponding media file from the user's media collection is tobe obtained from the central system 16′. The media selections stored inthe media selections database 28 may be the identifiers, such as theGUIDs, of the selected previews, which may also be the identifiers, suchas the GUIDs, for the corresponding media files from the user's mediacollection.

In addition to playing and processing the previews, the user may playdesired ones of the media files stored in the media database 22, and, inresponse, a play history is generated (step 610). For each media fileplayed, the play history preferably includes the GUID identifying themedia content of the media file and a time stamp identifying a time anddate at which the media file was played.

At some point, the media selections and the play history of the mediaselections are provided to the central system 16′ (step 612). Inaddition, the media selections may include information defining adesired format such as, for example, MP3 or AAC for songs or MPEG or AVIfor videos. The desired format may alternatively be stored in the userprofile of the user associated with the portable media player 12 and theuser system 14′. Note that in this example, the media selections areprovided to the central system 16′ along with the play history. However,the present invention is not limited thereto. The media selections maybe provided to the central system 16′ as the media selections are made,periodically, or upon request by the user.

The central system 16′ then provides the selected media files, which arethe media files identified by the media selections, to the portablemedia player 12 (step 614). Optionally, if a particular format isdesired, the central system 16′ may generate copies of the selectedmedia files in the desired format and provide the copies of the selectedmedia files to the portable media player 12.

In addition, the user profile stored in the user profile database 34 maybe updated using the play history and the media selections provided bythe portable media player 12 in step 612, and the central system 16′ mayinitiate the prediction engine 54, which operates to select media filesfor which previews are to be provided to the portable media player 12(step 616). The identifiers of the media files selected for preview,such as the GUIDs identifying the media content of the media filesselected for preview, are then provided to the preview generator 44′,which operates to generate previews of the media files selected forpreview (step 618). Thereafter, the previews may be provided to theportable media player 12 as described above (step 620).

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the portablemedia player 12 of FIGS. 1, 7, and 10. In general, the portable mediaplayer 12 includes the control system 20 having associated memory 56.The memory 56 operates to store software instructing the portable mediaplayer 12 to operate according to the present invention. The portablemedia player 12 also includes a storage unit 58, which may be, forexample, a hard-disc drive or the like. The databases 22-28 (FIG. 1) maybe implemented in the storage unit 58. Alternatively, the databases22-28, or a portion thereof, may be implemented in the memory 56. Theportable media player 12 also includes a communication interface 60. Inthe embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 7, the communication interface 60 enablescommunication with the user system 14, 14′ (FIGS. 1, 7) and may be awireless or wired interface. In the embodiment of FIG. 10, thecommunication interface 60 may be a wireless interface communicativelycoupling the portable media player 12 to the network 18. In addition,the portable media player 12 includes a user interface 62, which mayinclude a display, speakers, input buttons or dials, or the like.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the user system14 of FIG. 1. In general, the user system 14 includes the control system30 having associated memory 64. The memory 64 operates to store softwareinstructing the user system 14 to operate according to the presentinvention. In this example, the media player 40, the synchronizationengine 42, and the preview generator 44 are implemented, at least inpart, in software and are stored in the memory 64. The user system 14also includes a storage unit 66, which may be, for example, a hard-discdrive or the like. The databases 32-38 (FIG. 1) may be implemented inthe storage unit 66. Alternatively, the databases 32-38, or a portionthereof, may be implemented in the memory 64. The user system 14 alsoincludes a communication interface 68. The communication interface 68may include a first interface communicatively coupling the user system14 to the network 18 (FIG. 1) and a second interface providing eitherwireless or wired communication with the portable media player 12(FIG. 1) during a docking, or synchronization, process. In addition, theuser system 14 includes a user interface 70, which may include adisplay, speakers, one or more input devices, or the like.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the server 46of the central system 16 of FIG. 1. In general, the server 46 includes acontrol system 72 having associated memory 74. The memory 74 operates tostore software instructing the server 46 to operate according to thepresent invention. In this example, the media identification application52 and the prediction engine 54 are implemented, at least in part, insoftware and are stored in the memory 74. The databases 48 and 50(FIG. 1) may be implemented in one or more storage units associated withthe server 46. Alternatively, the databases 48 and 50, or a portionthereof, may be implemented in the memory 74. The server 46 alsoincludes a communication interface 76. The communication interface 76communicatively couples the server 46 to the network 18 (FIG. 1). Inaddition, the server 46 includes a user interface 78, which may includea display, speakers, one or more input devices, or the like.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the user system14′ of FIG. 7. In general, the user system 14′ includes the controlsystem 30′ having associated memory 80. The memory 80 operates to storesoftware instructing the user system 14′ to operate according to thepresent invention. In this example, the media player 40, thesynchronization engine 42, the preview generator 44, and the predictionengine 54′ are implemented, at least in part, in software and are storedin the memory 80. The user system 14′ also includes a storage unit 82,which may be, for example, a hard-disc drive or the like. The databases32-38 (FIG. 7) may be implemented in the storage unit 82. Alternatively,the databases 32-38, or a portion thereof, may be implemented in thememory 80. The user system 14′ also includes a communication interface84. The communication interface 84 may include a first interfaceproviding either wireless or wired communication with the portable mediaplayer 12 (FIG. 1) during a docking, or synchronization, process and anoptional second interface communicatively coupling the user system 14′to the network 18 (FIG. 7). In addition, the user system 14′ includes auser interface 86, which may include a display, speakers, one or moreinput devices, or the like.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the server 46of the central system 16′ of FIG. 10. In general, the server 46 includesa control system 88 having associated memory 90. The memory 90 operatesto store software instructing the server 46 to operate according to thepresent invention. In this example, the media identification application52, the prediction engine 54, and the preview generator 44′ areimplemented, at least in part, in software and are stored in the memory90. The databases 32, 38, 48, 50 (FIG. 1) may be implemented in one ormore storage units associated with the server 46. Alternatively, thedatabases, or a portion thereof, may be implemented in the memory 90.The server 46 also includes a communication interface 92. Thecommunication interface 92 communicatively couples the server 46 to thenetwork 18 (FIG. 1). In addition, the server 46 includes a userinterface 94, which may include a display, speakers, one or more inputdevices, or the like.

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modificationsto the preferred embodiments of the present invention. All suchimprovements and modifications are considered within the scope of theconcepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.

1. A method for providing previews of a user's media collection to aportable media player comprising: storing information identifying aplurality of media files forming the user's media collection at acentral system, the user's media collection being stored at a usersystem associated with the portable media player; selecting ones of theplurality of media files for which to provide previews to the portablemedia player at the central system based on the information identifyingthe plurality of media files; and providing information identifying theones of the plurality of media files from the central system to the usersystem; wherein the user system generates previews of the ones of theplurality of media files and provides the previews of the ones of theplurality of media files without providing the ones of the plurality ofmedia files to the portable media player during a synchronizationprocess during which the user system is communicatively coupled to theportable media player.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting theones of the plurality of media files comprises: receiving a play historyof the portable media player; and selecting the ones of the plurality ofmedia files from the plurality of media files forming the user's mediacollection based on the information identifying the plurality of mediafiles and the play history of the portable media player.
 3. The methodof claim 1 wherein selecting the ones of the plurality of media filescomprises: receiving a play history of the portable media player;receiving a play history of the user system associated with the portablemedia player; and selecting the ones of the plurality of media filesfrom the plurality of media files forming the user's media collectionbased on the information identifying the plurality of media files, theplay history of the portable media player, and the play history of theuser system.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting the ones of theplurality of media files comprises selecting the ones of the pluralityof media files, at least in part, based on a user profile of a userassociated with the portable media player.
 5. The method of claim 4wherein the user profile comprises information selected from a groupconsisting of at least one user preference and demographic informationregarding the user.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting the onesof the plurality of media files comprises selecting the ones of theplurality of media files, at least in part, based on informationidentifying previews previously transferred to the portable mediaplayer.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting the ones of theplurality of media files comprises selecting the ones of the pluralityof media files, at least in part, based on information identifying mediafiles for which previews were previously transferred to the portablemedia player and selected by a user associated with the portable mediaplayer such that, in response to selection by the user, correspondingmedia files were transferred from the user system to the portable mediaplayer.
 8. A system comprising: a communication interfacecommunicatively coupling the system to a user system associated with aportable media player; and a control system associated with thecommunication interface and adapted to: store information identifying aplurality of media files forming a user's media collection, the user'smedia collection being stored at the user system associated with theportable media player; select ones of the plurality of media files forwhich to provide previews to the portable media player based on theinformation identifying the plurality of media files; and provideinformation identifying the ones of the plurality of media files to theuser system; wherein the user system generates the previews of the onesof the plurality of media files and provides the previews of the ones ofthe plurality of media files without providing the ones of the pluralityof media files to the portable media player during a synchronizationprocess during which the user system is communicatively coupled to theportable media player.
 9. The system of claim 8 wherein in order toselect the ones of the plurality of media files, the control system isfurther adapted to: receive a play history of the portable media player;and select the ones of the plurality of media files from the pluralityof media files forming the user's media collection based on theinformation identifying the plurality of media files and the playhistory of the portable media player.
 10. The system of claim 8 whereinin order to select the ones of the plurality of media files, the controlsystem is further adapted to: receive a play history of the portablemedia player; receive a play history of the user system associated withthe portable media player; and select the ones of the plurality of mediafiles from the plurality of media files forming the user's mediacollection based on the information identifying the plurality of mediafiles, the play history of the portable media player, and the playhistory of the user system.
 11. The system of claim 8 wherein thecontrol system is further adapted to select the ones of the plurality ofmedia files, at least in part, based on a user profile of a userassociated with the portable media player.
 12. The system of claim 11wherein the user profile comprises information selected from a groupconsisting of at least one user preference and demographic informationregarding the user.
 13. The system of claim 8 wherein the control systemis further adapted to select the ones of the plurality of media files,at least in part, based on information identifying previews previouslytransferred to the portable media player.
 14. The system of claim 8wherein the control system is further adapted to select the ones of theplurality of media files, at least in part, based on informationidentifying media files for which previews were previously transferredto the portable media player and selected by a user associated with theportable media player such that, in response to selection by the user,corresponding media files were transferred from the user system to theportable media player.